He added: “The best? No, I don't say my team is the best, I say that my team is top of the league and in this moment no one has the same points as we have, and so because of that, at this moment we are the best team in the Premier League.

“I'm not saying that we are better than anybody else.”

Chelsea host Sporting Lisbon midweek in what is, for the Blues, a dead rubber in their Champions League group – though Mourinho insists he will not make major changes to his team.

They return to Premier League action on Saturday, with the visit of Hull City, and the manager has given very specific instructions to Chelsea's fans on what he wants to hear from them during that game.

He said: “The good thing is that when we start the game next week against Hull City, if they want to sing something, the best song that they can sing is 'We are top of the league'."